balaarat

Updated: May 20, 2025

When the tide began its upward turn, a Mr. "All that glisters is not gold." Merchant of Venice. Let me begin upon early Ballarat by stating, what many may now have forgotten, namely, that the original and native name was Balaarat, or Ballaarat, which was the pronunciation then, and for some years after. But our English way is to put the emphasis on the first part of a polysyllabic word.

William Westgarth - Personal Recollections of Early Melbourne and Victoria